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EPA Pesticide Program Updates: August 31, 2001Pesticide Program Update from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, August 31, 2001 IN THIS UPDATE:
EPA Extends Public Comment Period for Bt Crop ReassessmentEPA has extended the public comment period for the Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) crop reassessment until September 10, 2001.In response to requests from members of the public, EPA will provide additional time to submit comments regarding the implications of the revised risk and benefit sections of the Bt reassessment, the draft paper on potential risk mitigation and regulatory options, and the regulatory decision documents on the Bt Cry1F protein. These documents are part of the comprehensive scientific and public review of the current registrations for Bt corn and Bt cotton, which the Agency initially undertook in August 2000. EPA has extended the time allowed for public comment to ensure that our decisions are based on the best available scientific analysis and to provide additional transparency in our decision-making process. All comments must be identified by docket control number OPP-00678B. EPA has also established "reading rooms" for public viewing of certain confidential data submitted by the Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC) concerning the effect of Bt corn pollen on monarch butterflies. ABSTC made its submissions in response to a December 15, 1999, notice calling for data concerning the potential for adverse effects of Bt Corn on nontarget lepidopterans. With ABSTC's permission, EPA has established reading rooms to allow the public access to the 27 pages of data that ABSTC has claimed as confidential business information (CBI), provided the viewer first sign a confidentiality agreement. The Reading Rooms are located at EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs in Arlington, VA, and at EPA regional offices in the following cities: Boston, MA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Kansas City, KS; Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. Further instructions on the reading room process are located on the Web. For further information, contact Mike Mendelsohn, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, at (703) 308-8715 or e-mail at: mendelsohn.mike@epa.gov. EPA Releases Preliminary Risk Assessment for LindaneOn August 29, 2001, EPA released preliminary human health and ecological risk assessment documents for a pesticide undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment: lindane. EPA will accept comments on this risk assessment until October 29, 2001. Lindane is an insecticide registered for use as an agriculture pre-plant seed treatment on 13 crops. One proposed new crop also is being considered for addition to the label: canola seed treatment.The preliminary risk assessment for this chemical was developed as part of the Agency's process for making reregistration eligibility decisions and tolerance reassessments for pesticides, consistent with provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). By allowing access and opportunity for comment on the preliminary risk assessment, EPA is seeking to strengthen stakeholder involvement and help ensure that our decisions under FQPA are transparent and based on the best available information. EPA cautions that the risk assessment documents are only preliminary. As new information becomes available and additional analyses are performed, the Agency's conclusions about risks may change, and further refinements of the documents may be appropriate. The risk assessment documents and brief summaries are available on EPA's Web site. The Federal Register notice announcing its availability is available on EPA's Web site. EPA to Hold Tribal Pesticide Program Council MeetingEPA to Hold Tribal Pesticide Program Council Meeting The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register a 2-day meeting of the Tribal Pesticide Program Council (TPPC) that will be held on September 20-21, 2001. This will be the fourth meeting of the full TPPC, a national group which allows Tribes and various Tribal organizations to work with EPA to address tribal pesticide program and technical issues at a national level. The meeting will address the following topics: FIFRA sections 18 (emergency exemptions for pesticide use) and 24(c) (State local needs registrations) and tribal authority under FIFRA; basic elements of tribal pesticide programs; the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; integrated pest management programs focusing on school and structural applications; Federal inspector credentials; worker protection; Gila River Indian Community Pesticide Program Reports from TPPC Working Groups; Office of Pesticide Program funding awards for special projects and water quality; and information on funding, data collections issues, and training from the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. The meeting will take place at the Ak-Chin Indian Community (Maricopa) in Arizona. The meetings will run from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. For more information, please contact Georgia McDuffie, Field and External Affairs Division, by phone at 703-605-0195, or by e-mail at McDuffie.Georgia@EPA.gov; also, questions may be directed to the Native Ecology Initiative's Lillian Wilmore, Coordinator for the TPPC in Brookline Village, Massachusetts, by phone at (617) 232-5742, or by e-mail at NaEcology@aol.com. For general questions on pesticides and pesticide poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network (NPTN), toll-free, at: 1-800-858-7378, by e-mail at nptn@ace.orst.edu, or by visiting their Web site. For information about ongoing activities in the Office of Pesticide Programs, visit OPP's home page. Or call or write EPA directly
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 Western Integrated Pest Management Center Pest Management Centers are sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service |
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